Monterra in Mill Creek Apartments

My boyfriend and I have lived in Monterra for about 6 months now and it has been an OK experience. The amenities are terrible. We weren’t provided with a microwave. It takes twice the time to cook something in the oven. The dryer takes and hour and 15 min or so to dry a load. Not to mention we’ve had trouble with MOLDAVIA in every window of the apartment! We reached out to the maintenance staff to come fix the problems and they let themselves in without our permission! Good thing my German Shepherd was out of the apartment otherwise it wouldn’t of been good. Very disappointed of the staff here. They’re very immature and not professional whatsoever. On Sunday’s the lawn mowing workers come at 7−8am and have their leaf blowers out and blow leaves right by our bedroom window which blows dirt onto our carpet.
We can’t wait for our lease to be up in June!

Apartment living is just that. I’ve never lived in a complex where I didn’t have some loud neighbors or similar issues with other tenants. The fact is that in a complex there are a ton of people and there are going to be some jerks, and being a jerk doesn’t violate a lease.
Monterra was pretty decent though, I lived there for over 2 years. I lived in the J building which is in the back and facing «the reserve» (aka trees) so I didn’t have as many people around me, and with fewer people coming to that end of the complex I didn’t have much of an issue with parking and noise. (Although I have a theory that my first upstairs neighbors were destroying furniture and rebuilding it there was so much banging. Taught me a lesson: always get the top floor.)
The apartment was spacious and clean. I had a renovated 1 bedroom and it was nice and modern looking.
Like most complexes, they lure you in to your first year with very attractive rent and then increase it on you every time you sign a new lease. But I was shocked at how big of an increase. In my past at other complexes it averaged 5%. After my first year they wanted to raise it 15%. I started looking for another place to live and told them so, and they came back with a better rate, so I signed for another year. After the second year they wanted to raise it close to 20%. I told them I would find another place, and being a clean, quiet and reliable tenant it would be better for them in the long run to keep me considering what the cost is to flip an apartment (cleaning, marketing, lost rent while showing it, etc.). They declined, I left.
I did appreciate things like the office staying open late so that you could pick up your packages at Christmas. Door to door garbage/​recycling pickup was a required service, and while I wouldn’t have paid for if I had a choice, it wasn’t that expensive and was nice that I didn’t have to haul my trash to a stinking dumpster, even nicer when they added in recycling at no extra cost. I don’t like that utilities are averaged out and split among all residents. I understand the logistical issues of having water meters, etc. for each apartment, but still.
One thing I actually found very nice was when I moved out they offered me a cleaning service for a surprisingly decent amount. I ended up getting a new job right at that time and was moving to another city and considering hiring a maid service to clean for me just so things weren’t as hectic, and the quotes I had gotten were more expensive than what they were offering. They sold me on it by saying that if I used their service then I was guaranteed to not be charged any additional cleaning fees (except carpet cleaning, which is always required). I was a little skeptical, but I decided to go for it. I ended up moving on Easter weekend and I didn’t do a really thorough clean before I left, so I got a little worried when I ran out of time, but that guarantee was in place and true to their word I wasn’t charged an extra dime.
That said, when I moved in they said I could transfer to another complex within the company and not have to pay new deposits etc. which was a seller for me in case I wanted to move closer to work at a later date. Since I ended up moving to a new city I thought I might try to take advantage of that. Turns out in the fine print you can only do that if you’re bumping up, like a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom. It’s not exactly as advertised.
Overall, it’s apartment living and how good your experience is will depend on variables like who your neighbors are. Ignoring those factors because they are only so much in management’s control, Monterra was pretty darn nice. If they hadn’t tried to raise the rent so significantly (and if I hadn’t ended up getting a new job in another city) I would have stayed longer.

Great staff and really takes good care of you as well as the property. Very small community and very quiet plus you get free reserved parking and great views of scenery.

STAY FAR AWAY! THESE PEOPLE ARE CON ARTISTS! AND LOTS OF DRUGGIES!
Wish I could give this place no stars, this place doesn’t even deserve a star. My buddy and I lived at this place for 1 year and 6 months and It was the worst mistake I made and would never ever do business with these people nor recommend to anyone. Not only are the neighbors loud with kids screaming every morning and the guys mowing the lawn at 9am in the morning twice a week for over an hour. Everyone smokes and smokes a lot of marijuana here and they grow A LOT of there own here. You’ll see at night all the green lights and dark lights they use from the street parking and the smell is HORRENDOUS! I lived on the 3^rd floor and could never keep my sliding door open to enjoy a breeze without smelling marijuana blowing into our place. It was so bad to the point where no windows could be opened and the smell would be stuck inside. If you like druggies and loud noises and lot of kids revving their cars in the parking lot, then stay here, you’ll make lots of friends. 3 or more places here grow there own and it’s a very very strong smell of you don’t mind smelling marijuana all the time.
Besides all the neighbors and kids screaming every morning…
The front Office is the worst. Very unprofessional, non polite people you’ll ever meet. When I would go into the office to ask a question or ask about something on our bill and they were rude and disrespectful and have a stuck up attitude. Trust me, there’s nothing at all to be stuck up about this place.
When moving out at the end our lease, they told me that I would get my deposit back if I made sure that the place was cleaned Up and back to standards. My buddy and I are very clean and we’re never really home and the place had nothing wrong with it at all. We had no pets or kids nothing was hung on the walls and no stains in the carpets. We still went through and cleaned everything extra good to ensure our deposit back, which I always get back from every place I lived before this one except for this place. Three weeks goes by and I received a letter in the mail saying that we owe them $ 950 but they took my $ 350 deposit and now we owe them$ 600.
STAY FAR AWAY! THIS PLACE IS NOT WORTH IT. Glad to be living in Kirkland again and far from this dump.

I lived at Monterra for 2 years, and honestly thought it was a great complex. I went into it knowing it didn’t have all the extra fluff, like a pool but saved money my first year living there. I had the best location for the complex I must say the L building is out of the way and you only have forest behind you.
It is apartment living so it goes without saying that it isn’t perfect but I never had any major issues. Parking would have to be the worst though that is mostly because of the jerks who park in your assigned spot. It was hard to have friends over. I needed maintenance only once and when I did they came in the next day. They are always willing to deliver a package to your apartment if you can’t get to the office in time and always answer questions.
I was worried that when I moved out that they would be like most apartment complexes and charge me for cleaning even though I cleaned it myself from top to bottom. They did try but when they didn’t know why they were awesome and took care if it, I was very appreciative.
Cons: parking, no additional amenities, they have rats near the dumpster.
Pros: clean, quiet, for the area the price isn’t bad (though it will continue to be raised each year)
I would recommend it

I was so intrigued by the brazen negative reviews that I felt compelled to voice my opinion. I offer Monterra three stars, a fair, balanced rating.
Sooo…let’s just get the negatives out of the way.
Parking is very lacking. A community this size was not planned out very well. The bathtubs belong in an RV (smallest regulation bathtub you can get). Bathrooms could use a storage cabinet over the commodes to store towels and toiletries. Considering the lack of amenities (pool, full fitness center, clubhouse/​community room), one would expect a reflective price.
However…
All you need to do is compare the per-​foot cost of rental properties in this area to realize Monterra is a competitive value. They are incredibly clean. The apartment is spacious. The décor is minimalist chic and very well kept. Utilities are very reasonable, which reflects efficiency. We feel safe here. The location is very central to shopping, public transit access, entertainment, dining, walking trails, parks, and schools. And we haven’t had a single problem from our neighbors. If we wanted some of the higher-​end amenities, we would have chosen a different community. But we were more concerned about affordable family space, school access, and cleanliness. With that, Monterra won us over.
Count your blessings. Real estate is expensive ALL OVER THE REGION! My daughter has friends in a neighboring community due south of ours, and they are one step away from being a Section 8 dump! We have lived in other parts of the country, including places where properties cost much less than here. But it is all relative. Monterra is proving to be a good place to call home for now. By no means a long term home, as apartments shouldn’t be. But appreciative of what they offer us for now.

Probably one of the more poorly ran apartments ive ever lived in. My lease will be ending soon and I will NOT renew. Management is lazy and the neighbors are extremely loud. People leave garbage. Ags out on the sidewalks and people walk their dogs qithout leashes. Its supposed to be a nonsmoking community but I live around a bunch of smokers. Rent is ridiculous. Do yourself a favor and dont move here.

Since we visited Monterra, we like it. The place is very clean, well organized and is in a great location. Safeway, Fred Meyer, Costco, Lowe’s, just naming a few of the many many business around. Parks and Public Transportation is very convenient as well. The office Staff is very professional. I have seen the other reviews and I cannot believe other people’s experience. My experience since I visited, moving, working with office staff and living has been awesome. We are definitely having our friends be our neighbors. Monterra is a Great place to live!

So, I’m doing my best to ensure that people aware that these apartments are «legal con-​artists.» Since my experience here, I will NEVER rent an apartment from Equity Residential again. These apartments were cool at one point (the first few months,) and not so much the last few years or so. They seem to suck you in by offering you a nice deal, for a nice apartment ($ 875 for a 1 bedroom, 1 den) to start. Then the following year, they RAISE your rent to $ 975… where right next to you is a 2 BEDROOM for $ 838… So we moved across the hall to the 2 bedroom which is bigger, has 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and a larger living room and kitchen. After that year went up, prices got raised again, significantly. So basically… You move here, remain a loyal tenant– you will be ripped off. Every time. It’s a blackjack game, and the house always wins.
I can tell you that moving here with longer than 1 year plans will not go over very well. Everything about the noisy neighbors, lame management, and crappy parking is true. Upon move out, my apartment was spotless. The carpets were clean, as no shoes are worn in the house anyway, the kitchen was wiped down to the last small detail– and sinks were sparkling… Basically it appeared as a maid service came in to clean. The apartments charged an extra $ 90.00 to clean up some «crumbs» found. When inquiring about the extra $ 90.00 (on top of the breaking lease, I couldn’t stand it anymore) They had lied about the crumbs, and soap scum stains in the sink, and basic regularly cleaned areas to make an extra buck. They were angry when we called them to inquire as to why the charge was placed, and they actually HUNG UP in the middle of the conversation. I can’t imagine any business just hanging up on a customer, for any reason– without trying to resolve the issue. (Yeah, Monterra, I still want my money back)
Oh the stories I could tell about this place.
Oh. And watch your patio, your pets and your kids. They don’t have a security service, they don’t tow when people park in your spot. There’s a kids play center that’s smaller than my TV, next to a busy apartment entrance… And there’s vagrants who live across the street. Nuff said on that.

I have lived in these apartments for almost a year now, and in previous years for 10 months as well. I am very thankful that my lease is almost up! This apartment complex is in a convenient location, which was my main reason for choosing here… however I have found out that it is NOT worth the rude, lazy management staff currently employed by Equity Residential… There has been 5 «managers» here in the past year. When we lived here before the managers Mark and Melody were FANTASTIC. We have made several complaints about the neighbors above us jumping/​stomping/​running, even knocking our light fixtures out of the ceiling and NOTHING got done. They told me it was «normal» apartment living! We paid a pet deposit of $ 500 and the neighbors upstairs did not disclose they had two dogs, which is clearly against the lease agreement. And the management did nothing about it. So if you ever choose to live here… I would recommend ONLY a third floor AND for you to expect inequality in the treatment YOU receive compared to another tenant!

This apartment complex has a very nice setting, off of the main road, not too much traffic noise, and a lot of yard and trees around for renters and their pets. The apartments themselves (we have a 3 bedroom) are spacious and kept up, however if you’re on the bottom floor, be prepared for extra moisture and mold on the interior (the bottom level is halfway underground). That is not why this review gets a one star rating. The rating is due to the apartment management staff being completely lax on maintaining a clean and QUIET living environment. We have had 2 different upstairs neighbors, and the first set although known to party on the weekends, they were not routinely loud and/​or destructive to the living environment. The most recent upstairs neighbor for the last 7 months, we have complained on average of once a week about the immense amount of noise that they produce in the manner of stomping, jumping, loud movies, vacuuming at all hours of the day and usually 2 – 4 times per day. The noise/​stomping is so severe it has knocked off 2 separate light fixtures, one being a chandelier in the dining room and the other a fluorescent light cover in the kitchen. It has almost come to blows with the neighbors and their hateful and intentional noise making specifically after office hours. Although we continue to complain, nothing has gotten done at all other than a «talking to» the neighbors have gone on unwarned and unquiet. I am grateful that the lease is about to be up so we can move without penalties, the price and local of this complex does not outweigh my lack of peace and sleep in what is supposed to be my home. I would not recommend this apartment management company to my most hated enemy.